Cutting bar for mowing machines



Feb. 3, 1953 R. CARTER 2,627,156

- CUTTING BAR FOR MOWING MACHINES Filed April 19, 1950 Patented Feb. it, 1953 CUTTING BAR FOR MOWING MACHINES Raymond1,0arter, Wyoming, 111.; Hazel Carter and Raymond Bush Garter administrator: of the estate of Raymond Carter, deceased Application April 19, 1950, Serial No. 156,897

*2 Claims. 1

The instant invention relates to mowing machines, and more especially has reference to a cutting bar wherein the cutting surfaces or blades are attached to the bar in a. novel manner. The application is an improvement on the cutting bar shown in my co-pending application Serial No. 18,272, filecl March 31, 1948, now Patent No. 2,529,328 issued November '1, 1950, Mowing Machine.

In mowing machines of the type wherein the cutting blade is supported by the mowing machine frame for rotation about a vertical axis, the problem of preventing the cutting surface or blade from being damaged when the blade strikes a hard obstacle has been a troublesome one. To overcome this objectionable feature, the cutting blade section is attached to the supporting bar by means of a pair of spaced apart pins or rivets, one of which is adapted to be sheared oil when the cutting blade strikes an obstacle, whereupon the blade will swing rearwardly beneath the cutting bar, thus preventing the blade from being broken.

An object of the present invention is to provide a detachable blade or cutting section for a rotatable cutting bar wherein the blade is supported on the bar in a rigid fashion, yet is capable of horizontal pivotal movement should the blade strike a relatively immovable object.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a rotatable cutting blade for mowing machines of the character described which includes fevr essential working parts, which is highly ellicient in operation and which may be easily and inexpensively manufactured.

And yet another object of my invention is to provide a connection between the cutting blade or section and its supporting bar which may be readily replaced when necessary.

With the foregoing and other objects in view, the invention consists in thedetails of construction, and in the arrangement and combination of parts to be hereinafter more fully set forth and claimed.

In describing the invention in detail, reference will be had to the accompanying drawings forming part of this application, wherein like characters denote corresponding parts in the several views, and in which:

Figure 1 is a plan view of the cutting bar installed on the mowing machine, the mowing machine being shown partially in dotted lines.

Figure 2 is a view in perspective on an enlarged scale of one end of the cutting bar, the dotted lines indicating the position of the cutting section when the frangible connect on has been broken.

z 7 As shown in Figure 1, the mowing machine is denoted generally II, and a mandrel II is supported by the frame of themachine ll adjacent the front end thereof, the lower end oi. the mandrel supporting:- a bar I! for rotation about the vertical axis.

A suitable drive connection denoted I3 is provided between the mandrel H and a power plant 14 for imparting the necessary rotational movement to the mandrel and bar l2.

Referring to Figure 2, it will be noted that the bar I2 has a leading or front edge 15 and a trail-' ing or rear edge II. The bar may be of any suitable metal and is provided with a pair of spaced apart apertures i1 and I! located near each end of the bar II. A triangular cutting blade or section 19 having cutting edges 20 is adapted to be secured to each end of the bar it. Each section I8 is provided with openings HA and Ill; adapted to underlie and register with the apertures l1 and I8 on the bar M. The aperture i1 and its corre spending opening in the bar It are of greater diameter thanthe aperture i8 and its corresponding opening, and a rivet or the like 2| is lodged in the aperture l1 and the opening in the section IS. A shear pin type rivet 22 is disposed in the aperture I8 and the opening in the section it, and it will be appreciated that the members 2! and 22 will i'astly support the cutting section on the bar l2. Fm'thermore, it will be observed that the shear pin 22 is located adjacent the trailing edge of the bar l2, and in the event the cutting section l9 strikes a hard obstacle or object during the mowing process, the pin 22 will be sheared ofl, whereupon the section II can swing horizontally beneath the bar I! about the rivet 2| to the position shown in the dotted lines. Consequently, by reason of this connection between the bar and the cutting section, there can be no danger of the cutting section being broken when the section hits or strikes a hard obstruction.

The shear pin may be readily and easily removed and replaced, and manifestly, the assembly requires little maintenance or upkeep costs.

It will be appreciated, therefore, that I have provided a relatively simple cutting bar for mowing machines of the type hereinabove described,

which bar, by virtue of the connection between the bar and the cutting blade, can be used over extended periods of time, since the cutting blade is not apt to be broken or seriously damaged during the mowing operations. In addition, the cutting blade may be easily attached to or detached from the supporting bar without the necessity of employing a skilled workman.

The invention is not to be confined to any strict conformity with the showing in the drawing but may be changed or modified so long as such changes or modifications mark no material departure from the salient features of the invention as expressed in theappended claims.

I claim:

1. A cutting bar for use with mowing machines of the type wherein the bar is rotatable about a vertical axis comprising a support. a cutting blade located at each end of the support, a rigid pivot 10 connection between the blade and the support adjacent the leading edge of the support, and a frangible connection of lesser cross-sectional area than the rigid connection between the blade and the support adjacent the trailing edge of the support so that the blade can swing beneath the 4 support should the blade strike a hard obstacle. 2. A cutting bar as claimed in claim 1 wherein the rigid pivot connection is a rivet and the trangible connection is a shear pin.

RAYMOND CARTER.

. REFERENCES CIT D The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,947,552 Huddle Feb. 20, 1934 2,522,112 Gilmour Sept. 12, 1950 Carter Nov. 7, 1950 

